Berlin: The Downfall: 1945

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Political instructors rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known, with tanks crushing refugee columns under their tracks, mass rape, pillage and destruction. Over seven million fled westwards from the terror of the Red Army. Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse.

Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder - A Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science

Whether you are a scientist or a poet, pro-nuclear energy or staunch opponent, conspiracy theorist or pragmatist, James Mahaffey's books have served to open up the world of nuclear science like never before. With clear explanations of some of the most complex scientific endeavors in history, Mahaffey's new book looks back at the atom's wild, secretive past and then toward its potentially bright future.

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

The Normandy landings that took place on D-day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was simply awesome. What followed them was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war, at times as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. As casualties mounted, so, too, did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: and Other Clinical Tales

Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road Drugs Empire

From New York Times best-selling author Nick Bilton comes a true-life thriller about the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, the founder of the online black market Silk Road. In 2011, Ulbricht, a 26-year-old libertarian idealist and former Boy Scout, launched 'a website where people could buy anything anonymously, with no trail whatsoever that could lead back to them'. He called it Silk Road, opened for business on the Dark Web, and christened himself the Dread Pirate Roberts.

A History of Britain: Volume 1

The story of Britain from the earliest settlements in 3000BC to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. To look back at the past is to understand the present. In this vivid account of over 4,000 years of British history, Simon Schama takes us on an epic journey which encompasses the very beginnings of the nation's identity, when the first settlers landed on Orkney. From the successes and failures of the monarchy to the daily life of a Roman soldier stationed on Hadrian's Wall, Schama gives a vivid, fascinating account of the many different stories and struggles that lie behind the growth of our island nation.

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.

Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

In Presidents in Crisis, a former director of the Situation Room takes the listener inside the White House during 17 grave international emergencies handled by the presidents from Truman to Obama: from North Korea's invasion of South Korea to the revolutions of the Arab Spring, and from the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis to the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran and George W. Bush's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

What Happened

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service

In Mossad, authors MichaelBar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal take us behind the closed curtain with riveting, eye-opening, boots-on-the-ground accounts of the most dangerous, most crucial missions in the agency's 60-year history.

Welcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all - from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel.

Hyperion

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.

Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit

As David Cameron's director of politics and communications, Craig Oliver was in the room at every key moment during the EU referendum - the biggest political event in the UK since World War II. Craig Oliver worked with all the players, including David Cameron, George Osbourne, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Theresa May and Peter Mandelson.

Williams and Company R Stafford says:"A partisan attempt to refight the battles"

Alien: Covenant Origins: The Official Prequel to the Blockbuster Film

The Covenant mission is the most ambitious endeavor in the history of Weyland-Yutani. A ship bound for Origae-6, carrying 2,000 colonists beyond the limits of known space, this is a make-or-break investment for the corporation - and for the future of all mankind. Yet there are those who would die to stop the mission. As the colony ship hovers in Earth orbit, several violent events reveal a deadly conspiracy to sabotage the launch.

Digging Up Mother: A Love Story

Doug Stanhope is one of the most critically acclaimed and stridently unrepentant comedians of his generation. What will surprise some is that he owes so much of his dark and sometimes uncomfortably honest sense of humor to his mother, Bonnie.

The Nix

Meet Samuel: stalled writer, bored teacher at a local college, obsessive player of online video games. He hasn't seen his mother, Faye, in decades, not since she abandoned her family when he was a boy. Now she has suddenly reappeared, having committed an absurd politically motivated crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the Internet, and inflames a divided America. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high school sweetheart.

Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944

The famous D-Day landings of 6 June, 1944, marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle for the liberation of Europe. Republished as part of the Pan Military Classics series, Max Hastings' acclaimed account overturns many traditional legends in this memorable study. Drawing together the eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides, plus a wealth of previously untapped sources and documents, Overlord provides a brilliant, controversial perspective on the devastating battle.

Cognitive Psychology for Dummies

Demystify the core concepts of cognitive psychology. Written specifically for psychology students - and not other academics - Cognitive Psychology for Dummies is an accessible and entertaining introduction to the field. Unlike the dense and jargon-laden content found in most psychology textbooks, this practical guide provides listeners with easy-to-understand explanations of the fundamental elements of cognitive psychology so that they are able obtain a firm grasp of the material.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Your body is teeming with tens of trillions of microbes. It's an entire world, a colony full of life. In other words, you contain multitudes. These microscopic companions sculpt our organs, protect us from diseases, guide our behaviour and bombard us with their genes. They also hold the key to understanding all life on earth. In I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems.

Made in America

In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.

Memories, Dreams, Reflections

In 1957, four years before his death, Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist and psychologist, began writing his life story. But what started as an exercise in autobiography soon morphed into an altogether more profound undertaking.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.

Engleby

Mike Engleby says things that others dare not even think. When the novel opens in the 1970s, he is a university student, having survived a "traditional" school. A man devoid of scruple or self-pity, Engleby provides a disarmingly frank account of English education. Yet beneath the disturbing surface of his observations lies an unfolding mystery of gripping power.

Audible Editor Reviews

While few of us would tackle the printed version of the 9/11 CR, this production for readers on the go has emotional moments. The raw communications from civilians, operators, and firemen receive no elocution but paint chilling portraits. Five male narrators hustle their parts along, taking practiced turns at the one thousand Arabic names. The introduction lists the readers, but we guess who's who. To indicate a direct quotation, one voice receives an echo. The hundreds of abbreviations shouldn't be attempted in heavy traffic - in this report "GOP" means "Government of Pakistan." At less than five dollars for more than twenty hours, we thank the publisher for making this historic document so accessible.

Publisher's Summary

On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people died in terrorist attacks upon the United States. Hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while an additional plane crashed into the fields of Pennsylvania. This series of events resulted in the single largest loss of life from enemy attack on U.S. soil.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002. This independent, bipartisan commission had the task of producing a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the attack, including preparedness and immediate response, and providing recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.

The 9/11 Commission released their final report to the public on July 22, 2004. During the course of the Commission's 20-month investigation, the 10 commissioners and 80 staff members conducted more than 1300 interviews in 10 countries and reviewed more than 2 million documents. In the 17 days of public hearings, the commissioners heard testimony from 140 federal, state, and local officials, and private sector experts.

What the Critics Say

"The prose is free from bureaucratese and, for a consensus statement, the report is remarkably forthright. Though there could not have been a single author, the style is uniform. The document is an improbable literary triumph." (The New York Times Book Review)

I bought this because the price was so cheap. My expectation was that it was going to be a very dry congressional report that reads like an encyclopedia. To my surprise, it was a very well written, narrated , and interesting account of 9/11. Its more like a book than a report. If you think you heard it all about 9/11; you haven't. This takes you into the middle of everything that happened on that day and leading up to it. It guarantees to offer something you had not heard in the past 10 years.

Interesting to hear the fundamentals behind the event but a shame they are one sided with it the outline the evidence shows and obviously controlled to keep to the given story we know of 9/11. Worth checking out because of the cheap price.

I expected a dry, factual report. I was surprised to see this is outstanding, both in its content and in the quality of the writers that produced it. The report contains the details we would expect regarding the events of 911, but I didn't expect the background material that sets the events, terrorism itself, and the ominous future we all face now in a historical context that makes it all the more frightening. Excellent narration too.

59 of 64 people found this review helpful

John

Junction City, CA, USA

31/07/04

Overall

"Commission Report is essential reading."

This report should be required reading in educational establishments all over the western hemisphere, as it explains how pointers were missed and/or ignored by government and intelligence agencies in the USA, with tragic consequences.

37 of 45 people found this review helpful

RDP

08/03/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Some stones are best left unturned"

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Do not listen if you do not want to get angry or depressed. This book brought back too many evil memories that were best stashed away. My anger was directed at the terrorists mainly, but also at the incompetence of our government and its contractors. I could not get through it and I found that when I read it, my remaining day was ruined. Some stones are best left unturned

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Cynthia

Monrovia, California, United States

07/09/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Still so very relevant"

At the beginning of every September, A&E takes a few hours away from 'reality' shows like "Duck Dynasty", "Storage Wars" and "Flipping (some American city hit hard by the Great Recession)" and shows actual reality - 9/11 documentaries, or somtimes, sanitized 9/11 docudramas. The History Channel sets aside "Ice Road Truckers" and "Ax Men" and returns to its roots and spends the weekend showing various aspects of 9/11, from a long interview of former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani to a three hour show exploring conspiracy theories.

I don't watch those shows, but it's not out of sense of boredom or a misplaced sense of outrage that basic cable is exploiting the anniversary. 9/11 is history, and just like my father has had a life long fascination with World War II (he was alive for the bombing of Pearl Harbor) I have a fascination for what happened, and why, that beautiful September morning. The reason I don't watch the shows is first, I'm really primarily a reader/listener; second, "The 9/11 Comission Report" (2004) is so thoroughly researched and well written, it was a finalist for a National Book Award, and no non-fiction show compares to it; and, finally, I was watching CNN as the attacks happened. I don't have to see what happened on video again. I remember all too well.

I read the entire book on line in 2004, and every year since then, I listen to parts of this book. I've been doing this long before I joined Audible. Since the book has always been in the public domain, it's been available through Librivox for years. The Librivox version was read by 19? 20? volunteer readers, the year of its release, and the quality ranges from astoundingly good to mediocre, especially with pronunciation of The Middle Eastern names. After 10 years of war, we are all mich better at Arabi names.

The question is, isn't whether the book is worth the time. It most definitely is. It's like reading/listening to a Tom Clancy on steroids. So, then, is it worth it to buy on Audible a book you can listen to or read on line for free? It definitely was and is for me. I was able to easily download it to my iPhone, although it's 200 + mB, so make sure you're on WiFi when you do. It's well narrated, and the production quality smooth. The speed of the narration is a bit of an issue - one narrator is much slower than the others. Listen to that narrator at 1.25 speed, and it's fine.

Which leads me to why I listen or read, year after year. I worry that I'll forget. No, I'll never forget some things - like watching the second plane crash into the other tower, as it happened. But I worry that I'll forget the littler things, like Barbara Olson, the wife of then Solicitor General Theodore Olson, was on Flight 77 when it was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon, and she called him during the hijack. Conservative Theodore Olson was fresh from successfully representing George Bush in Bush v Gore (2000). Theodore Olson subsequently turned to Gore's lawyer, David Boies, and together, they were responsible for overturning laws against same sex marriage. I wonder if somejow, that singular assault on democracy on 9/11 made Theodore Olson a formidable champion of civil rights for a group that hadn't been embraced by the political right.

This book also has the clearest explanation of Islam and the difference between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims that I've found. It explains a Caliphate - which is even more relevant today than it was 10 years ago, when the report was published. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (prosaically nicknamed ISIS) controls far more land than Osama bin Laden ever did.

I listen to remember; to think of how we all changed; and to keep trying to understand why.

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!

17 of 25 people found this review helpful

Stephen

Red Bluff, CA, United States

12/02/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"A little bit interesting a lot boring"

Started out really great with a blow by blow discription on what passed in the planes as they were hijaked. Then went on to names and places I will never remember. Procedures followed then changes recommended. Not my cup of tea but i made it through to the end. One point made repeatedly in this report that stuck out. We won't be able to stop all attacks.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

S. Kassebaum

Valencia, CA United States

17/01/08

Overall

"Mixed Apeal"

Part 1 of this chilling accounting is probably one of the best audio reads I've listened too...then, unfortunately, whomever produced the audio decided to change narators! Part 2 is narated very poorly, at a high rate of speed; making it extremely difficult to follow the details of what he is reading. I was imensly disapointed, and plan to write a letter to the production company. Hopefully you can get thru it and still get value out of the naration, but it made it too dificult for me -- I was very disapointed.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brian

Portland, ME, USA

06/04/05

Overall

"Best $5 you will ever spend"

Although the 5 star-rating seems a bit overly dramatic, I think the rubric here is 3 - does not meet the standard (but if you buy it you'll finish it), 4 - partially meets the standard (good read but not life changing) and 5-exceeds the standard (captivates and makes you think differently). In short, this one is worth a listen. I did not expect to be entertained by a congressional commission but this often surreal story was captivating because it was nonfiction. It was enlightening to hear the story behind the media sound-bites of this tragic event.

7 of 10 people found this review helpful

Greg

Murfreesboro, TN, USA

02/02/09

Overall

"More interesting than Expected"

My concern before listening to this Report was that it might be too dry. After all, it is a government report and it is 20 hours long. I was pleasantly surprised. To me, it read like a well-researched history book. I thoroughly appreciated the detailed accounts of the events on that day, the equally detailed history of Bin Ladin and Al Quaida, as well as the extensive review of the response of the U.S. on many fronts. I want to listen to it again, and for a 20 hour government report, that is really saying something.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Patrick K. Ryan

Michigan

06/09/04

Overall

"Excellent quality of content adn narration"

I was very impressed with the quality of the presentation as well as with the narration. It helped clarify for me many issues of timing and planning that I had questions about. I especially enjoyed many of the pithy quotes which I am glad were leftt in. It made it less sterile and clinical. I am indebted to Audible for bringing it at such as reasonable price.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

BP2009

29/09/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"The reader"

The reader does a good job with narration, but absolutely butchers the Arabic pronouncement of names, words and countries.

I'm not an Arabic speaker, nor do I pretend to be. But Yemen is not 'Yay-men' and Somalia is not 'Som-ay-lia.'

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.